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February 13, 2014

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole

A cheesy casserole with broccoli, chicken and rice that requires no browning or precooking any of the ingredients. Much like Cracker Barrel's Broccoli Cheddar Chicken but with rice!

You may notice I don’t have a ton of casserole recipes on the blog. That’s really for two reasons: 1) casseroles are supposed to be easy (otherwise you’d just cook all that stuff separately) but many aren't and 2) most call for cream of whatever soup and, until recently, I avoided those like the plague.

Creamed soups have come a LONG way in the last few years. So I've been using them more with good results!

My friend Catlin loves Cracker Barrel’s Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole and found a recipe for it she can make at home. It sounded pretty good and I’d been thinking about giving it a go. But I kept thinking I wanted some rice in there somewhere. Then it would truly be a one-dish wonder. So I looked online for any recipe that had the broccoli, cheddar, chicken and rice and the only thing I could find were recipes that called for cooked rice. Or recipes that called for browning the chicken first. Ain't nobody got time for that.

So I decided to just go for it with the uncooked rice. I’d add more liquid and hope it and the moisture from the chicken and broccoli would be enough. Also? We've been snowed in and I've been so bored I just needed something to do and if it didn't work out, at least it kept me entertained trying.

And y’all, let me tell you something… this dish is amazeballs. AMAZEBALLS, I tell ya! I ate and ate and ate till I thought I was going to bust a seam. And then I got up in the middle of the night and ate some more. And you know what I’m sitting here eating for lunch right now? The last of the leftovers.

This is stupid easy and requires no par-boiling, browning or pre-cooking. Holla! This one’s going in our regular supper rotation. Fo sho.

Yield: 6-8 ServingsAuthor: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

Casserole

1 cup uncooked rice (white, long-grain)

1 1/2 cups milk

2 10.75-oz. cans condensed cheddar cheese soup

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt, pepper and garlic powder

1 12-oz. bag frozen broccoli florets (or about 3 cups fresh)

Topping

2 sleeves butter crackers, crushed (such as Ritz or Town House)

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

Casserole:

Spray the bottom and sides of a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, cheddar soups and 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Set aside one cup (not more) of the soup mixture. To the remaining soup mixture, stir in uncooked rice then pour mixture into prepared baking dish.

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces then season with salt, pepper and garlic. Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice mixture.

Arrange broccoli florets on top of the chicken.

Pour reserved soup mixture evenly over broccoli. Cover dish very tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Consider covering with a double layer of foil to ensure a tight fit - we need all the steam to stay in the dish to ensure everything cooks properly.

90 comments:

Whoa this is almost exactly how I have been making it for years! I love using the Campbell's cheddar cheese soup. The only thing I do different is I also add chicken broth & I do brown my chicken first ;-)

If you don't like cheddar cheese soup, how about a big, ol' hunk of Velveeta? I actually have some leftover from the Super Bowl. I guess I took the Velveeta scare shortage seriously. Anyway, I'm making this tonight and I'm going to melt the Velveeta into the milk before stiring in the rice. Mandy, I can't wait to get more deets on the Food Network show!

Going to try this recipe this week! My mom always cooked just plain chicken breasts in rice growing up and I actually made it last week. It is good, but very plain, so I was just thinking of something new to try and planned to use broccoli and cheese, then happen to stumble on this recipe. Thanks!

For those that have asked about browning the chicken first, we never do. Cooking the chicken in the rice and everything really flavors the rice a lot.

I made this last week and have to agree, it's amazeballs. I had the left overs for lunch through most of the week, and I'm tempted to make it again this weekend. I was concerned about the chicken cooking all the way. so I cubed it and then browned in first in olive oil. I threw the garlic powder and salt in while I browned it. This recipe turned out really well. I did stir it as indicated in the recipe. I'm glad I did as some rice looked dry when I stirred it.

I made this for dinner on Sunday when my son was here and he LOVED it! He said it was one of the best things he had ever had. He is 15 and VERY picky about foods. I knew he would like it because chicken, and rice are 2 of his favorite foods. I just didn't know he would go so crazy over it. He ate 2 BIG helpings of it!!!! I sent the recipe home to his Grandmas with him so she could make it, but I will definitely make this more often!

Update. Finally the product is done and supper commence. I only tweaked it a tad bit. I used Ritz cracker in Garlic Butter ( two sleeves), I put them in a large one gallon plastic bag and used a glass as a rolling pin to make them in crumbs; I used 3 cans of Cheddar and broccoli to 1 1/4 cup of milk. Everyone likes it, but it had a blandness, so, next time when I make this, I'll add a bit of New York Extra sharp cheddar ( finely shredded).

Just made this again for the THIRD time and I just had to write to you to say WE LOVE THIS RECIPE (I have 3 teenage boys)! It's perfect! The rice is tender, everything's slathered in cheese sauce and the crackers just soak it all up! Leftovers the next day are even better!!! Thank you for all your recipes!

My husband and I made it for my family tonight and they loved it! We added a layer of cheese under the cracker crumbs (which is probably why they didn't get crunchy) but it was so good! The only problem we had was that the cup of the reserve mixture wasn't enough to cover the top of the casserole! Other than that, it was perfect!

Ok, so I have a bit of a weird question....my husband likes this recipe, but want crazy about the chicken in it, so I was just wondering if baking times and whatnot would still be the same...even if I excluded the chicken?

Thank you for posting this recipe!!! I didn't have all the ingredients so I used a few substitutes and it still turned out great. Instead of white rice I used Uncle Ben's chicken rice, I had one can of the broccoli soup so I used that with one can of cream of chicken, and then I used tyson's bag and already diced chicken since all my regular was frozen. Lastly used garlic ritz crackers and put them on as I plated the food so it would not get mushy. IT was Delicious! I'm usually not a casserole person but this one was great!

I made last might and it was delicious, only had one problem...half the rice didn't finish cooking. I followed all the steps and substitute d the condensed chedder for 3 packs of Velveeta cheese(which would be 12 oz), but was curious how thick/thin the soop mixture is supposed to be ?Mine was a little thick but still easy to poor. I was thinking maybe mine was to thick and that's why the rice did not cook fully.

I made this last night. It was pretty good, and I'd make it again, but I'd definitely consider adding a can of cream of mushroom soup, or cream of chicken. It needed more liquid, in my opinion. But I know not all ovens cook the same, so not everyone will have this issue, that's just what I would do.

I have all the ingredients for this recipe except the rice. I do, however, have a box of instant rice. I'm thinking about using that, and maybe cutting back a little on the milk. Also, should I reduce the bake time? My chicken is already cooked and cubed.

Yummyyyy!I just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicioussss.my husband isnt a fan of Campbell's soups so I melted Velveeta cheese with milk to substitute.I also didnt have crackers so I used uncooked stuffing and it really was a great one dish meal!thank you for the dinner success!

Mandy, I've been needing to go to the grocery store for days but am too lazy to go! ha So I've been on Pinterest looking up recipes with the little food I have in the house and found this gem. I have everything I need for it and making it tonight! Can't wait :) xo

Wonderful! I'd love to get your feedback about the rice. A few folks have commented that their rice didn't cook all the way through and I'm wondering if I should update the recipe. Let me know how things go for you! Miss you, hooker!!!

I made this a couple days ago and between two people we have devoured it! To those of you concerned about the rice or chicken cooking through entirely-- no need to worry! I followed her directions exactly and it came out perfectly cooked and looks just like the picture! Flavor is amazing! I have never cooked with cream of cheddar cheese soup and honestly when I opened the can I thought it smelled gross and I was concerned, but I was wrong! Mixing it with the milk dilutes it and It tasted great altogether! Wouldn't change a thing and I will definitely be making it again! Thanks so much for this recipe!

How would I adjust the recipe if I wanted to use leftover already cooked rice? Don't get me wrong, 97.5% of the time I have zero things pre-prepped lol, but for this particular instance I thought I'd ask ;) Thanks!

Plan on trying this tonight. This recipe reminds me of the tried and true Broccoli Rice Casserole everyone made for the holidays when I was growing up...just with the addition of chicken. I've used the cheddar cheese soup many times to make my own broccoli cheese soup and the consistency is smooth and flavor mild. I do not anticipate any problems with the rice as I will follow the directions exactly and cover the dish completely with foil to hold in the moisture....can't wait!

I fixed this for dinner last night. Followed the recipe, everything cooked through. I usually love your recipes, but not this one. I read the rave reviews, but my husband and I did not find it to be a keeper

This is delicious, I only used one can of soup and made up the difference with half and half , added some cheddar cheese and Tony cachere's and it was yummy! My son has requested this with potatos next time.

I cook this all the time. Only i work in heat all day. And live on a strict budget. So i buy 2 packs of Knorr's cheddar broccoli rice sides follow instructions on the pk. Add 2 large cans of chunk chicken and cook. Stove top or oven, when its done i drizzle with Velveeta cheese sauce. And wa`la. Family of 5 fed in 30mins. Maybe im lazy maybe im tired but its good and everybody likes it.

Hi there! While I'm not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven't been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments. And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y'all! - Mandy